Intro:

Seven time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher is in hospital in Grenoble following a skiing accident.

Script:

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is in critical condition after undergoing brain surgery following a skiing accident in the French Alps on Sunday.
The retired driver fell while skiing off-piste in Meribel earlier Sunday and hit his head on a rock, according to a statement from the resort.
Resort managers said he had been wearing a helmet and was conscious when rescuers first responded to the scene.

Chief anesthesiologist Jean-Francois Payen told a news conference at Grenoble University Hospital Centre that the seven-time world champion is in a medically induced coma.

SOUNDBITE: (French), Professor Jean-Francois Payen:
"I said that this accident occurred at high speed, that he was taken to our hospital without delay, that he was operated on his arrival after a brain scan. Following that, he is in a critical state in his cerebral recovery. All the treatments that are recommended have been put in place. For the moment, we cannot say what is the future of Michael Schumacher."

Earlier in the day, the Meribel resort said Schumacher had been taken to Grenoble for tests and authorities said his life was not in danger.
But the situation began to look more serious when the resort said that orthopedic and trauma surgeon Gerard Saillant had travelled from Paris to the hospital to examine Schumacher. German news agency dpa said it was Saillant who operated on Schumacher when he broke his leg during a crash at the Silverstone race course in 1999.